independent Games on Demand
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Independent Roleplaying Games in Australia

Welcome to the IGOD website - a home to independent roleplaying games and game players in Australia. At the moment, the site is still quite new (much like the concept of indie roleplaying down under), but over the next few months we hope to expand it quickly with links to independent games, creators and players. If you'd like any further information about independent roleplaying; browse through these pages, contact the administrators or even meet up with us in person at many of the roleplaying conventions on Australia's east coast. If you'd like to help us out by spreading the independent gaming fever, even better.

What is an Independent Roleplaying Game?

The answer to this question will vary wildly depending on who you ask. Some of the common responses include:

  • A game produced by a single person. This one's pretty close. Many people consider a game to be independent if a single author has written the majority of the text (if not all of it), and if the same author has laid out and illustrated the work or has specifically commissioned an artist and layout person to make the text into a finished product. Where this becomes a grey area is trying to define how many people involved in a book's process stop it being independent.
  • A game produced for the love of the hobby, rather than for profit. This one is also considered pretty close by a lot of people. But there are certainly people in the independent gaming community who are making money from their games.
  • A game that can't be bought in a hobby store, it has to be bought online. This isn't entirely true, a better response might be to say that an independent game won't be stocked in Border's Books, Kinokuniya or Angus and Robertson; D&D and White Wolf books have been spotted in these retailers and they certainly aren't considered independent games.
  • A game that doesn't use a d20. Given the high profile of D&D within the gaming community, many non-gamers could believe this. But the roleplaying games from Games Workshop, White Wolf, Chaosium and some of the other large gaming companies don't use a d20, and a great number of these games aren't considered independent.
  • A game about a specific theme rather than a generic set of rules that can be applied to a wide variety of situations. There is a subgroup within independent games often referred to as "Forge Games", these games often have a very narrow premise and confront the players in ways that mainstream games don't. The designers of such games don't seek to get wide appeal for their product, but seek to connect at a much deeper level with a narrow audience.

There are dozens of other definitions of independent roleplaying, but few people can agree on the specifics. Considering the above list, if a game meets more than half of the criteria mentioned, then the odds are that people will consider it an independent game.

What is independent Games on demand?

independent Games on demand has evolved out of a few ideas that have been circulating the roleplaying community for a few years since the mid 2000's. Two of these key concepts have been the Indie Games Explosion and the Games on Demand offerings at conventions in the United States. Other ideas have ranged from a desire to uncover the new and interesting games produced by the roleplaying underground, and the need to share these games with others.

At Gencon Oz 2008, a group of individuals ran the precursor to independent games on demand under the name of "Indie Games Explosion" with the intention that it would follow a similar path to the events occurring at conventions in the United States. This proved as successful as the organisers had hoped, luring almost 100 players over the course of the convention, exposing them to half a dozen games that might never have seen before. As a part of the Indie games experience at Gencon 2008, the independent games on demand group also presented a number of seminars to new designers and those interested in the independent game design movement. There are some photos available from Gencon 2008.

In 2009, the group is looking to expand slightly, and refine the concept for an Australian audience. Encompassing the ideas of both the Indie Games Explosion and the Games on Demand Formats, the Australian independent Games on demand group will be offering a menu of games to choose from over the course of the convention, with a range of experienced indie game GMs and designers bringing their skills and talents to the events participants.

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